Wall paper scarifier



March 10, 1964 J. c. SNYDER WALL PAPER SCARIFIER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 15, 1960 I}! INVENTOR. 2' /5 aax/A/ 0. 544 059,

BY J" 5 MfiM March 1954 J. c. SNYDER1 1 3,123,911

WALL PAPER SCARIFIER FiledAug. 15. 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

+1 5. JOA/A/ 62- 524 059,

BY Maw March 10, 1964 J. c. SNYDER 3,123,911

WALL PAPER SCARIFIER Fil'ed Aug. 15, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

JOHN 6. SW YDER MTM ATTORNEY March 10, 1964 J. c. SNYDER WALL PAPER SCARIFIER 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 15, 1960 ,226 226 zze r226 /226 22 ZIZ ZIZ

INVENTOR. JOHN C. SNYDER Mw EM ATTORNEY- March 10, 1964 J. c. SNYDER WALL PAPER SCARIFIER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 15, 1960 INVENTOR. JOHN C. SNYDER W B. Hm

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,123,911 WALL PAPER SCARIFIER John C. Snyder, 21 E. 23rd St, Indianapolis, Ind. Filed Aug. 15, 1960, Ser. No. 50,050 6 Claims. (Cl. 30-172) The present specification constitutes a continuation-inpart of my copending application, Serial No. 713,945, filed Febuary 7, 1958 for a Wall Paper Scarifier, now abandoned.

The invention relates to a scoring device for use in the removal of wallpaper or the like.

In recent years, it has become conventional to paint over wallpaperfrequently, over many layers of wallpaper. Because many of the paints or coating materials so used are highly impervious to liquid, removal of wallpaper which has been so coated has been very difiicult. Neither steam nor solvents customarily used to loosen the glue or paste with which the original layer of wallpaper was applied to the wall, will permeate the coating material. Rakes and combs of various forms have been used in an eifort to produce closely-spaced score lines through the coatings; but it has been found that the pointed teeth of such devices tend to clog and/or skip, so that such devices have been quite unsuccessful.

Obviously, if closely-spaced score lines can be successfully and easily formed, the paper may thereafter be removed readily, since steam or a liquid solvent will enter the score lines and move, by capillary action, behind the coat and between the score lines to dissolve or soften the glue or paste.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved scoring device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a wallpaper scoring device which will not clog and/or skip.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device for scoring wallpaper, which may be operatively contacted with the wall or other surface to be scored throughout a range of attitudes, thus making the device easier and more convenient to operate.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for scoring wallpaper on walls which are not completely flat.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention may be embodied in the forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific constructions illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top view of a scoring device embodying the elements of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the construction shown in FIG. 1 having certain portions thereof broken away for clarity and illustrating the portion of the device which contacts the surface to be scored;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the device of FIG. 1 in which a handle forming a portion of the device is removed to conserve space;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are enlarged views of one of a plurality of cutters which form an important part of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the device of FIG. 1, showing it in contact with a surface being scored;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary top view of another embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 8 is a front elevation of a plate forming a portion of the embodiment of FIG. 7, and showing the portion of the embodiment which contacts the surface to be scored;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged section taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 8 and showing certain features of the embodiment of FIG. 7 in greater detail;

3,l23,9ll Patented Mar. 10, 1964 FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the embodiment of FIG. 7 in an operating position;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary top view of a third embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 12 is a front elevation of the construction shown in P16. 11 having certain portions thereof broken away for clarity and illustrating the portion of the device which contacts the surface to be scored;

FIG. 13 is a section taken in the direction of the arrows and along the line 13l3 of FIG. ll;

FIG. 14 is a section similar to FIG. 13 but showing a fourth embodiment of my invention, which embodiment is identical to the embodiment of FIG. 11 with the exception of certain details depicted in FIG. 14;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary top view of a fifth embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 16 is a section taken in the direction of the arrows and along the lines 16-16 of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a top plan view of a sixth embodiment of my invention; and

FIG. 18 is an enlarged, transverse section, taken substantially on the line 15-48 of FIG. 17.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 6, a first embodiment of my invention comprises a base, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, having a handle 22 adjustably fixed thereto and a plurality of cutters l717 fixed thereto. The base 10 consists of an elongated plate 11, a bar 12, and a yoke 13. The bar 12 is fixed to the elongated plate 11, by means of a pair of bolts 1616 and the yoke 13 is welded to the elongated plate ill.

The cutters 1717 consist of semi-circular shaped discs and, as is most clearly illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 5, each has a tapered cutting edge 18 formed by bevelling the rim of the disc from one or both faces of the disc, and extending around the semi-circular side thereof. Each of the cutters l717 has a rectangular indentation 15, which engages one of a plurality of pairs of notches 2l21 in the sides or the bar 12. The cutters 17-17 are secured within the notches 2121 by means of press fits or spot welds. The notches 2ll21 are spaced along the bar 12 and are arranged at such an angle that the groups of cutters 17-17 on one side of the centerline 14 each form a given angle of between 60 and 80 degrees with the length of the bar 12 and the cutters 17i7 on the other side of the centerline 14 form an equal but opposite angle with the length of the bar 12. Although I feel that other angles in the range of 60 to 80 degrees will operate, I feel that a cutter-tobar length angle of approximately degrees gives perhaps the best results.

Referring to FIG. 6, the device is shown scoring a sunface or wall 25 and the semi-circular sharpened cutting edges 18-18 are shown contacting the wall 25 at points other than the mid-points of the semi-circular cutting edges. As an operator pushes or pulls the device upwardly or downwardly against a surface, thus constantly changing the angular relation of the handle 22 to the wall 25, the cutting edges 18-18 may contact the wall from almost one end of the semi-circular edges 1818 to the other end of said edges, the points of contact continuously changing as the attitude of the device in relation to the wall changes from, for instance, that illustrated in FIG. 6 wherein the handle forms a downwardly-opening acute angle with the Wall, through perpendicularity of the handle to the wall, to one in which the cutters are below the proximal end of the handle and the handle forms an upwardly-opening acute angle with the wall, as the tool is moved through a respective stroke.

Each cutting edge 18 defines a plane. The relative movement of the device with respect to the wall throughout any stroke is always perpendicular to the length of the bar 12. Thus, as the device is operated either upwardly or downwardly as viewed in H6. 6, and because the cutting edges 1318 cut into the surface being scored, the angle of the cutters 11-17 with respect to the direction of movement of the device causes the wall paper being scored to defiect rather than pile up in front of the blade as might be the case were this angle not present. As the device moves along the wall, the tendency of the cutters 1717 on one side of the centerline to move the device leftwardly or rightwardiy, as viewed in FIG. 2, is counteracted by the tendency of the cutters 17ll7 on the other side of the centerline 14 to move the device rightwardly or leftwardly, respectively.

The device is provided with a handle 22 which is connected to the base by means of an adjustable connection, indicated generally by the reference numeral 23. The adjustable connection 23 comprises a pair of members 26 and 27, which have radially corrugated faces 28 and 29, respectively (normally held in fixed contact by means of a bolt 32) and which are fixed to the handle 22 and the base 10, respectively. The adjustable connection 23 makes possible use of the device at any handleto-base angle which the operator feels to be most convenient. While working on the upper portions of the wall, he may desire the device to be at one handle-tobase angle and then may change that angle when operating on the lower portions of the walls.

It should be noted that the cutting edges l8l8 define a cylindrical surface as used in the broadest sense. As used above and as used below in the specification and claims, the words cylinder or cylindrical surface mean, the surface traced by any straight line, called generatrix, or element, moving parallel to a fixed straight line. (Websters Dictionary.) The cutting edges 18 18 of the device shown in FIGS. 1 through 6 are aligned along the bar 12 in such a manner that they all lie in a cylinder which is elliptical in right cross-section.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 through 10, a second embodiment of my scoring device is shown and comprises an elongated plate or base 5a which has a plurality of teeth 5l51 formed along one boundary thereof. Each of the teeth 51 has a cutting edge 52, each of which forms a convex curve and each of which defines a plane. With the exception of the most central cutting edge 52, which plays little part in the operation of the device, the plane defined by each cutting edge is at an angle with the length of the base 50, those to the left of the centerline 55 being at a given angle with the length of the base which is between 60 and 80 degrees and those to the right of the centerline being at an equal but opposite angle with the length of the base St). The base 50 is attached to a handle 53 by means of a pair of connecting members 5656 which are secured to the handle 53 by means of a bolt 57 and are secured to the base 50 by means of a pair of bolts 5858.

My second embodiment may be constructed from a plate of metal having one radiused edge. That edge is scalloped so as to form the plurality of teeth 51 side-byside as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The teeth 51 are sharpened to tapered edges by filing the teeth on one side of a centerline 55 to one hand, and filing the teeth on the other side of the centerline 55 to the other hand. By such a filing operation, the above-mentioned angle of between 60 and 80 degrees with the length of the base 50 is produced. It should be noted that the filing operation should be so performed as to produce a certain amount of beveling of the filed surfaces of the teeth so that the finished cutting edges 52 will each have a radius or at least a convex curved shape.

It can be seen in FIG. 9 that the sharpened cutting edges 52-52 do not extend completely around the teeth 5-l51; however, the curve of the cutting edges 5252 is sufficiently great to produce contact thereof with the surface being scored even though the base 5% may be positioned through a range of attitudes in relation to the surface being scored. In similar fashion to my' first described embodiment, the planes of the cutting edges 5252 will form a varying angle with the direction of scoring which will depend upon the attitude of the device with relation to the wall being scored. It is this angle of the planes of the cutting edges 5252 with the direction of scoring which causes the deflection of the cut wallpaper. it should be noted that the cutting edges 5252 must all be within a cylindrical surface so that contact of all of the teeth with the wall is insured no matter what the attitude of the base 59.

Referring to FIG. 10, the scoring device is shown in operating position in contact with a wall 61. As shown in this figure, the base 5% is being held at an angle to the wall which is other than degrees. The curved cutting edge in FIG. 9 makes possible such a use of the device.

Referring now to FIGS. 11 through 14, a third and fourth embodiment of my scoring device are shown, which embodiments may be identical in all respects to the er bodiment of FIGS. 1 through 6 except as distinguished below. It will be noted that FIGS. 11 and 12 are similar to FIGS. 1 and 2; however, FIGS. 11 and 12 are comparatively enlarged and show only one end of the device depicted therein (which end is to the right of centerlines l4'1 as viewed in FIGS. 11 and 12), whereas, FIGS. 1 and 2 show the complete length of the embodiment epicted therein.

In certain applications, such as, for example, the scoring of a wall which is not completely flat, is has been found that the two embodiments of my scoring device described above do not always operate completely successfully. Some of the cutters 17-17 and 51-5l sometimes pass over depressions in the wall without properly scoring the wallpaper covering those depressions. Furthermore, in the manufacture of scoring devices like those depicted in FIGS. 1 through 10, it has been found difficult to maintain tolerances which would locate the cutting edges l818 and 52-52 closely within the cylindrical surfaces defined by those cutting edges.

These problems are solved in the embodiment disclosed in FIGS. 1113, the cutters of which are independently resiliently mounted. That is, each cutter 17' is separately spring pressed away from its base 10' toward the wall being scored. Thus, when one or more of the cutters 17l17 engages an elevated portion of the wall, the springs 10lillltl are compressed, allowing those cutters to be forced closer to the base it), and further allowing the cutters 1717 engaging the depressed portions of the wall adjacent said elevated portion to operate effectively on said depressed portions. In order that the cutter pressures on such elevated and depressed portions shall be nearly equal, it may be advisable to cause the springs 1l-10tl to be under a relatively large amount of compression when the cutters are in the position of FIG. 13, so that the forces exerted by the springs when the cutters are depressed are approximately equal to the forces exerted by the springs when the cutters are extended.

It should be noted that the cutting edges i8'-18 of the cutters l7'17, which edges are of semi-circular shape and are taper-sharpened like the edges 18 of the cutters 17, are normally aligned side-by-side so as to define a cylinder but may be forced out of this cylindrical relationship when operating upon a wall not completely flat as above described.

The details of construction include the plurality of springs =ltl0lt)tl, each of which is received in a respective bore 101 in a bar 12" and forces against its respective cutter 17. Each cutter i7 is slidably received within a respective pair of notches 23l21', and is slidable from the normal position shown in EEG. 13 to a completely depressed position in which the surfaces l4184 abut the elongated plate 11'. The notches 2l'-21 are spaced along the bar 12' and are arranged at such an angle that each of the cutters l7-17 on one side of the centerline 14' forms an angle of approximately 75 with the length of the bar 12 and the cutters on the other side of the centerline 14' form an equal but opposite angle with the length of the bar 12'. A pair of projections 102 on each cutter 17' prevent the cutters from coming out of their notches 21'-21 and also along with the springs Nil-1%, normally position the cutting edges 18'-18 side-by-side so that they normally define a cylindrical surface.

A yoke 13 may be attached to an elongated plate 11 by welding in the manner shown in FIG. 1 or by the screws 163 (only one of which is shown). A pair of bolts 1% (only one of which is shown) are provided for holding the elongated plate 11 and the bar 12 together in a fixed relationship. If it is desired to remove the cutters 17-17 from the base It) for replacement or sharpening, it is only necessary to remove the bolts 1% from their holes; the elongated plate 11 may then he slid relative to the bar 12' until it no longer can engage the projections 102 thus allowing any of the cutters 17'-17' to be removed from its respective pair of notches 21-21.

The device of FIGS. 11-13 may be provided with a handle (not shown) and an adjustable connection (not shown), which may be identical to the handle 22 and adjustable connection 23 of FIGS. 1-6. Except as pointed out above, the device of FIGS. 11-13 operates in the same manner as explained for the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6.

Referring to FIG. 14, an alternative means for providing independent resilient mounting for the cutters may comprise a rubber pad 107 extending the length of the bar 12" and fixed to the bar 12" by means of bolts (not shown), similar to bolts 106-196, by glue or by any suitable means. The rubber pad 107 replaces the springs 106-100 of the embodiment disclosed in FIGS. 11-13 and is intended to function as do the springs 1633-169. In all other respects the embodiment depicted in FIG. 14 is identical to the embodiment of FIGS. 11-13.

Referring now to FIGS. and 16, a fifth embodiment of my invention is depicted which has been designed for economy of construction and which has a somewhat different arrangement of cutter-to-base relationship than do the other embodiments of my invention herein disclosed. My fifth embodiment comprises a plurality of cutters, indicated generally by the designation ass-ace, a base indicated generally by the numeral 201 and to which the cutters Mid-E} are pivotally secured, and a handle 2112 fixed to the base 201.

The base 221 includes yoke members 226-226, which are fixed to the handle 29 2 by a rivet 2%, and a cylindrical member 2127, which is adjustably fixed to the yoke members 266-2116 by means of nuts 208-228 threadedly engaged on threaded end portions 211-211 of the cylindrical members 207. The positions of the cutters 2%- Zfiit with respect to the handle 292 and the yoke members 296-256 may be changed by loosening the nuts 2as 2ss, rotating the cutters Zed-2% and cylindrical member 2197 with respect to the yoke members 2% and then tightening the nuts Mt -298.

Each of the cutters 290-206 comprises a cutter disc 2112 and a cutter arm 213 fixed to the disc 212 in any suitable manner such as welding. Each of the cutter discs 2112-2112 has a taper-sharpened cutting edge 216 extending completely therearound; however, the cutting edge 216 need only extend around the portions of a respective disc not adjacent the cutter arm 213 inasmuch as those portions are the only portions of the cutter disc 212 used to cut.

The cutter arms 213-213 each have a bore 217 in one end thereof for pivotal mounting upon the cylindrical member 267. Each bore 217 is notched as at 218 and the cylindrical member 21W has a plurality of aligned notches 221-221 spaced along its length. Each of the notches 218-218 forms, with a respective notch 221, a pair of mutually facing notches for the press fit reception of a resilient element, indicated generally by the reference numeral 222. Each resilient element 222 is composed of two resilient members 223-223 and a metal stifiening member 224 which adds rigidity to its respective resilient element 222.

The resilient elements 222-222 function to resist pivoting of the cutters about the cylindrical member 267 and normally hold the cutter discs side-by-side in such a manner as to define a cylinder. Thus it can be seen that each of the cutters is independently resiliently mounted, although the give of the cutters is not toward and away from the cylindrical member 207 of the base 201 but rather is pivotally around the cylindrical member 207.

A plurality of U-shaped members 236-236 are fixed to the cylindrical member 297 by means of rivets 237- 237 and function to space the cutters 200-200 at intervals along the cylindrical member 207. These U-shaped members also act as supporting guides for the cutter arms 213-213.

Each of the cutter arms 213-213 to the left of the centerline 225 is bent as at 226 at a given angle in the range of 60 to 80 degrees. Each of the arms to the right of the centerline 225 is bent as at 227 to an equal but opposite angle. Thus it can be seen that the plane formed by each cutting edge 216 forms an angle of approximately degrees with the length of the base or cylindrical member 2127.

The method of operation of this embodiment is similar to the other described embodiments with the exception that the greatest deflection of the Wallpaper is produced when either portion 231 or portion 232 of a respective cutter disc 212 contacts the wall being scored. If the portion 233 of a respective disc is used to score, there will be no deflection of the wallpaper and, therefore, the cutters 229-290 should be adjusted, with relation to the yoke members 205-206 and handle 202, by means of the nuts 228-208 so that the discs 212-212 contact the wall to be scored near the portions 231-231 or the portions 232-232. Obviously, when one or more of the cutter portions 231-231 or 232-232 of the cutters 202-266 engages an elevated portion of a wall being scored, the resilient elements 222-222 of those cutters are deformed, allowing those cutters 260-260 to be rotated about the cylindrical member 207, and further allowing the cutters 200-200 engaging the depressed portions of the wall adjacent said elevated portion to operate effectively on said depressed portions.

FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate still another embodiment of my invention possessing many of the characteristics of the previously described forms.

A tubular body element or base 3% is formed with a series of uniformly spaced slots 3G1 penetrating substantially halfway through the body and inclined, at an angle of approximately 75, to the axis of the body or base 301 A similar series of slots 382 is formed on the other side of the median plane of the base 3%, and is similarly, but oppositely, inclined with respect to the axis of the base. A rod 363 loosely extends through the tubular base and projects oppositely from the ends thereof to carry nuts 30 364 whereby the ears 365, 365 of yoke elements 3%, 3% may be clamped securely to the opposite ends of the base 31K). The yoke members 3%, 306 are secured to a handle 3%? by means of rivets 3&8, or other suitable fastening means, whereby the base is supported upon said handle.

Each of the slots 301 loosely receives a cutter 309', and each of the slots 392 loosely receives a similar cutter 310. The cutters 309 and 316 may be identically sharpened in the manner of the cutters 17 or they may be allochiral- 1y sharpened in the manner of the cutters 290. In either event, each cutter is formed to provide a substantially semi-circular edge 311, and is formed with an eye 312 which is concentric with the cutting edge and whose diameter is significantly larger than the diameter of the rod 3'23. A band 313, having an external radius considerably less than the internal radius of the body or base 300 is integral with each cutter 309 or 319 and completes the boundary of the eye 312.

A cushion 314- of softly resilient material such as rubber or any one of the rubberized synthetics, is positioned within the base opposite the slots Still and 3%, said cushion having a longitudinal extent substantially coextensive with the base 363 and having a width somewhat less than 180. The thickness of the cushion 314 is such that the outer peripheries 315 of the bands 313 bear against the inner surface of the cushion when the cutters are substantially in the positions of PEG. 18, whereby the cutters are resiliently held at their outermost positions relative to the base 3%. However, any substantial pressure exerted by the cutters against a surface, such as a wall to be scored, will force the cutters inwardly, compressing the cushion 314, so that the cutters are held resiliently against the surface to be scored and individual cutters will be pressed more or less toward the remote surface of the base, whereby each cutter will follow irregularities in the surface to be scored.

The operation of this form of the invention will be closely similar to that of the form of invention illustrated in FIGS. 11 to 14.

It should be noted that all embodiments of wallpaper scorer herein disclosed may be operated either upwardly or downwardly against the wall, that is, all may be operated so that the deflection of the Wall paper is either outwardly or inwardly from the center of the device. All that is necessary is that approximately half of the teeth or cutters cause a deflection in one direction and the other half of the cutters cause a deflection in the other direction, thus balancing the action of the device. Obviously, the degree of pressure against the wall exterted th ough the handle by the user of the device will be varied in accordance with the thickness and character of the material to be scored. Although all of the embodiments which I have disclosed above have radiused cutting edges, it is obvious that other convex forms of cutting edges will also operate such as those of part-ellipitical shape.

I claim as my invention:

1. A wall paper scoring device comprising a handportable tool including a base, a plurality of spaced cutters carried by said base and angularly related to said base at an angle other than 90, each of said cutters having a convex rim portion having a peripheral extent approximating 180 bevel sharpened to a cutting edge, said cutting edges normally being aligned side-by-side and spaced from each other along the length of said base in such a manner as to lie in a common cylindrical surface, said base and said cutters being so constructed and arranged that said scoring device will score a surface while contacting said surface through a range of attitudes, and each of said cutters being independently resiliently mounted upon said base.

2. A wall-paper scoring device comprising a handportable tool including an elongated base, said scoring device being constructed and arranged to score in a plurality of directions transverse relative to the length of said base, a plurality of cutters carried by said base and spaced from each other along the length of said base, each of said cutters having a convex rim portion having a peripheral extent approximating 180 bevel sharpened to a cutting edge which lies in a separate plane but all of said cutting edges lying in a common cylindrical surface, said cutters being grouped on both sides of a point disposed centrally of the length of said base, the planes of the cutting edges on one side of said point each forming a given angle with the plane perpendicularly bisecting the length of said base, and the planes of the cutting edges on the other side of said point each forming an equal but opposite angle with said bisecting plane, and each of said cutters being independently resiliently mounted upon said base.

3. A wall-paper scoring device comprising an elongated base, a plurality of cutters carried by said base and spaced from each other along the length thereof, each of said cutters having a convex rim portion having a peripheral extent approximating 180 bevel sharpened to a cutting edge of constant radius and lying in a separate plane, said cutters being grouped on both sides of a point disposed centrally of the length of said base, the planes of the cutting edges on one side of said point forming an angle of approximately degrees with the length of said base, the planes of the cutting edges on the other side of said point forming an equal but opposite angle with the length of said base, said cutters normally being spaced side-by-side along the length of said base in such an alignment that the cutting edges of said cutters lie in a common cylindrical surface, and a handle secured to said base and projecting therefrom generally in a direction away from said cutting edges, said base, said cutters and said handle being so constructed and arranged that said scoring device will score a substantially vertically surface while contacting said surface through a range of angular relations between said handle and said surface, said range extending from a downwardly-opening acute angle between said surface and said handle, through perpendicularity of said handle to said surface, to an upwardly-opening acute angle between said surface and said handle, and each of said cutters being independently resiliently mounted upon said base.

4. A scoring device comprising a base having an elongated cylindrical portion, a plurality of cutters spaced from each other along the length of said cylindrical portion and mounted thereupon for pivoting substantially about the axis thereof, each of said cutters having a convex rim portion having a peripheral extent approximating l bevel sharpened to a cutting edge facing away from said cylindrical portion, resilient means engaging said cylindrical portion and said cutters for yieldably resisting pivoting of said cutters about the axis of said cylindrical portion and for resiliently holding said cutters side-by-side in such a manner as to define a cylinder.

5. A scoring device comprising a base having an elongated cylindrical portion, a plurality of cutters spaced from each other along the length of said cylindrical portion and mounted thereupon for pivoting thereabout, each of said cutters having a covex rim portion having a peripheral extent approximating bevel sharpened to a cutting edge of constant radius defining a plane, said cutters being grouped on both sides of a point disposed centrally thereof, the planes of the cutting edges on one side of said point forming an angle of approximately 75 degrees with the length of said cylindrical portion, the planes of the cutting edges on the other side of said point forming an equal but opposite angle with the length of said cylindrical portion, each of said cutters having a notch opening toward said cylindrical portion, said cylindrical portion having a plurality of aligned notches each of which opens toward a respective one of the notches of said cutters thus forming a plurality of pairs of mutually facing notches, and an element of resilient material press fitted within each pair of mutually facing notches for yieldably resisting pivoting of said cutters about said cylindrical portion and for resiliently holding said cutters side-by-side in such a manner as to define a cylinder.

6. A scoring device comprising a tubular base, a rod supported within said base and spaced from the internal walls thereof, said base being formed with two groups of transaxial slots therein, the slots of one group being disposed in axially-spaced, parallel planes angularly related to the axis of said base within the range between 60 and 80 and the slots of the on er group being arranged at an equal but opposite angle to said base axis, and a discoid cutter seated and guided in each such slot, each such cutter having a convex rim portion having a peripheral extent approximating 180 bevel sharpened to a cutting edge of constant radius exposed radially beyond the exterior of said base and defining a plane, said cutting edges lying in a common cylinder, and each cutter further being formed to provide an axial opening therethrough bounded, in the region diametrically opposite said edge, by a portion having a radial dimension significantly less 5 than the internal radius of said base, and radially-resilient means interposed between the internal wall of said base and said portion of each cutter, the diameter of said rod being significantly less than the diameter of the opening through each cutter, and said rod penetrating said 10 cutter openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Chase July 9, Miller et a1 Jan. 15, Morse Mar. 23, Gatti Apr. 17, Willadsen July 25, Posey Mar. 20,

FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Dec. 23, 

1. A WALL PAPER SCORING DEVICE COMPRISING A HANDPORTABLE TOOL INCLUDING A BASE, A PLURALITY OF SPACED CUTTERS CARRIED BY SAID BASE AND ANGULARLY RELATED TO SAID BASE AT AN ANGLE OTHER THAN 90*, EACH OF SAID CUTTERS HAVING A CONVEX RIM PORTION HAVING A PERIPHERAL EXTENT APPROXIMATING 180* BEVEL SHARPENED TO A CUTTING EDGE, SAID CUTTING EDGES NORMALLY BEING ALIGNED SIDE-BY-SIDE AND SPACED FROM EACH OTHER ALONG THE LENGTH OF SAID BASE IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO LIE IN A COMMON CYLINDRICAL SURFACE, SAID BASE AND SAID CUTTERS BEING SO CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED THAT SAID SCORING DEVICE WILL SCORE A SURFACE WHILE CONTACTING SAID SURFACE THROUGH A RANGE OF ATTITUDES, AND EACH OF SAID CUTTERS BEING INDEPENDENTLY RESILIENTLY MOUNTED UPON SAID BASE. 